Congress Should Not Take a Vacation!
One of the most pressing issues this year has been the lack of work from Congress. With a Republican-controlled House, Senate, and Presidency, you would think that we would see more Conservative bills and confirmations of the President’s nominees than we have seen in past years. The Senate has picked up their pace on confirmations, however, there is still much work to be done in that effort, as well as our federal budget.
Eagle Forum recently signed on to a memo by the Conservative Action Project asking Congress to work through August recess to address the federal budget and nominees. A group of 16 Republicans in the Senate joined efforts by sending a similar message to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). They explain that it is impossible to move 12 spending bills in only 12 weeks’ time along with the other bills needing to be passed. They also ask for time to debate these bills which will allow transparency to the American people.
Leader McConnell took heed to the message. He communicated to the Senate that most of August recess will be cancelled to work on these exact issues. After the recent Omnibus bill that authorized liberal funding measures and that Congress passed without time to read it thoroughly, it is essential that they take the time to craft a bill that protects the integrity of tax-payer money. This is effective since 26 Democrat seats are up for election in November and Democrats want to go home to campaign, they will be less likely to continue obstructing the Senate’s agenda.
Thankfully, Leader McConnell has explicitly made clear that immigration is not a topic on the agenda. He will refuse any immigration bill that President Trump will not sign into law. That means, if Rep. Jeff Denham’s (R-CA) discharge petition moves forward and a liberal bill passes through the House, Leader McConnell will not consider it. This is a win for the President’s priorities!
We have yet to hear from the House on whether they will work during August recess. Eagle Forum encourages transparency and open debate on these matters from both chambers. We applaud the Senate’s efforts in working until those issues are resolved.